Worth
by Shade Penn
Summary: One-shot. Will had thought everything was fine, he should have really known better. Allspark!Will, Creepy!Autobots.


**A/N: After thinking of this Allspark!Human plot I had, I came to the conclusion that given the right circumstances, the Autobots could be just as creepy as the Decepticons. This is introspective, but not necessarily bashing, just an alternate interpretation.**

* * *

Looking back on it, Will figured he should have kept his mouth shut.

He'd started feeling strange after having contact with the Allspark in Mission City, but he had thought it was just a passing cold and hadn't thought anything of it. That had been the first mistake, as it ended up with him puking his guts out and being sent to the infirmary, where the doctors had a look at him.

When they asked him if he'd done anything during the last few weeks, he had that split second where he thought of keeping quiet, but thinking of any adverse effects, Will had told them about touching the Allspark before handing it over to Sam. They had sent him to Ratchet to see if anything could have been wrong, but he knew the medic had checked Sam out for any radiation after the fight and thought he'd given the same all-clear verdict.

That was what he thought, what he _got_ was a stunned look that made him agitated after a while.

Ratchet had very calmly called Optimus in and they had switched to speaking in Cybertronian, making Will feel uneasy, thinking he wasn't as okay as he figured. It also made him feel like he was missing something important. Optimus had given him a more measured look than Ratchet had, who told Will that he could leave and that perhaps he did just have a simple cold.

So Will had, brushing away the uneasiness he'd felt, but he wanted to believe that it really wasn't anything.

That was his second mistake, and it came to bite him in the worst way possible.

Will had gone on for the next three weeks working with N.E.S.T to hunt down the remaining Decepticons on Earth. He hadn't thought much of it when Ironhide would stick close to him, as he quite enjoyed the 'Bots company; he was gruff, but they both liked guns. Will soon found himself running on fumes as he was often up late and didn't have time to call Sarah and see how her and Annabelle were doing when he would fall asleep as soon as his head hit the cot pillow.

He tried though, but didn't have the energy for it. It made him privately ask Epps to call Sarah and check on her, but Ironhide had overheard him and promised to do it for him.

"I don't know," Will had said uncertainly, "Sarah doesn't know who you are."

"It is just a phone call," Ironhide had replied reasonably, "it's not like I have to see her."

Will had snorted and went to get some rest, and when he awoke, Ironhide said they were fine.

Things had started to take a slow nosedive after that, but Will hadn't caught on quickly enough to realize what was going on.

He often found himself left behind at Diego Garcia, and he would get angry he hadn't been able to go out and fight. Not be just well-rested with nothing to work out his extra energy on. Will felt like he was letting his team down for not being able to wake up when they did, but Optimus himself stated to him that he needed his rest.

Will hadn't questioned him about this, though the input had surprised him. The 'Bot had mostly kept his distance, and there was always this neutral expression on his faceplate when he looked at the man.

When had gone in for a check-up by the doctors, the surprises kept coming as he'd been looked over by Ratchet instead, who had told him he wanted to check and make sure any nasty surprises hadn't shown up. Will had grimaced and allowed him to give him his check-up, but when Ratchet assumed he wasn't looking, Will had caught him giving him an oddly intense stare.

Will wasn't used to feeling like he was under a microscope, so he had felt freaked out and relieved when he was allowed to leave.

"Hey, man, where'd you go?" Epps asked once Will had gone into the hangar for lunch.

"What are you talking about? I got my check up; didn't you remember that they were today?" Will had asked.

Epp's brow furrowed. "Didn't you get the memo? It was rescheduled for tomorrow; Ironhide said he'd tell you once you woke up."

Will blinked as he felt uneasiness curling in his stomach. "Really? Excuse me for a moment." He said and had gone to find Ironhide and ask him why he hadn't been told, but he found himself standing in front of Optimus' quarters. He decided though to talk to Optimus, as surely he figured out what had happened. "Hey, Optimus, can I talk with you?"

"What is it, Will?" Optimus questioned, but the use of his name caught Will off guard.

Usually it was only Ironhide that used his first name, as he'd always been 'Major Lennox' to Optimus. Recovering quickly though, Will had gotten right to the point. "What's the deal with Ironhide and Ratchet? Didn't they know about the memo? Ironhide apparently said he'd tell me, and he didn't. Then Ratchet said he was checking me for any side-effects again, did you know about this?"

Optimus' optics shuttered. "No, Will, I had not." He said neutrally.

"Oh, well, just don't let there be a next time, okay?" Will questioned. "I'm fine, aright?" he said and turned away, but a large metal hand came down in front of him. He looked up at Optimus in confusion.

"Yes, you will be." He said gravely, and the sudden resolve in his optics was so intense, Will felt his skin crawl.

Optimus had been nothing but polite to him since they met, and he shouldn't have felt unnerved by the 'Bots, but the look on his faceplate made Will feel like the 'Bot wasn't going to let him go. His words had rung almost ominously through the room before just as abruptly as it happened; Optimus pulled his hand away to let Will leave.

Will hadn't had the time to go over what had happened, as there had been another Decepticon sighting, and this time he got to be a leader again as he wasn't asleep and out of commission. The battle itself had started to become a haze after drinking a water bottle Ironhide had given him to keep him hydrated, as he stated humans needed lots of fluids.

He'd let Ironhide drive him once they reached the ground, but he'd felt himself black out as he heard the sounds of blasters being shot.

When Will had awoken, he found himself in a dark room, and for a brief moment he'd worried he'd been captured. Those worries had been dashed when Optimus walked in, and Will got up, but stopped abruptly as he walked into something and could see his own rapidly fearful expression staring back at him from a clear see-through surface, either glass or plastic, he wasn't sure.

He just knew he couldn't go any further.

Will assumed he was on some kind of shelf or counter as when Optimus walked over; they were almost at eye-level. "Optimus, what's going on? Did something happen? Is that why I've been quarantined?" he questioned, as at the time he'd figured that could have been the only reason.

"There is something we should have told you, back when you first went to Ratchet." Optimus began and seemed genuinely remorseful about something.

Will later wondered rather bitterly if _any_ of the 'Bots concern had been about _him_ at all.

"There was something, wasn't it?" Will had asked. "What was it?"

"This…this not an easy thing to accept, I'm sure," Optimus explained and then dropped the bombshell, "Ratchet had discovered that enough Allspark's energy had been transferred into you. You _are_ the Allspark now."

Will had stared at Optimus, stunned beyond words, but he'd looked around with growing horror as he saw that he wasn't in a quarantined area, but that around him, he could still see his reflection in the surface of his container.

He was in a _cube._

_"NO!"_ Will had screamed at the top of his lungs before he hurled every profanity that he knew at Optimus for the lies and deception he and the other 'Bots on base had told him. The betrayal stung deeply and by the time he was done, he sank down to his knees, staring blankly down at the bottom of the box.

"In time, you will come to accept this." Optimus had continued.

Will's head snapped up, his expression growing more horrified by his own thoughts. "What did you do? How can you expect everyone to simply accept that I'm gone?"

"Because to them, you _are_ gone." Optimus replied steadily.

The realization would have brought Will to his knees had he not already been on them. "They…they think I'm dead?" he asked and put the pieces together. "It was the bottle, wasn't it? The one Ironhide gave me, it knocked me out, right?" he asked further and Optimus nodded.

How could he have not seen this? Will supposed since the Autobots were the good guys, they wouldn't hurt them, so he didn't have to worry about them.

"What about that 'freedom' credo you keep talking about? Or does it only apply when it's _convenient?"_ Will hissed, as after his horror had passed, he'd gotten angry.

"You are angry," Optimus said and sounded so understanding that it made Will want to tear his hair out in frustration, "but this was not an easy decision. You are not aware of how complicated the situation is, our species is facing near extinction." He explained. "I have failed my duty to keep the Allspark safe once, I will not fail you again."

Will's eyes had widened in that one admission and he realized the terrible truth of the matter. It all became clear that the Autobots had apparently stopped seeing him as a human, as Will, and instead were seeing him as the _Allspark_. A _thing_. "Optimus," he said with an eerie calmness, but there was a hard edge underneath, "let me out of here."

"I cannot do that, Will." Optimus said regretfully. "Not until we can be certain the Decepticons will no longer pose a threat to you."

"They're not the ones who _imprisoned_ me!" Will retorted. "How can you be any better than _them_ when you do _this?"_ he yelled, but Optimus hadn't answered him, even when he continued to repeat the question dozens of times more after this confrontation. "Optimus, let me out of this box!" he shouted as the 'Bot had walked away and he pounded his fists on the material. "_Let me go!"_

Will had remembered pounding the glass until it broke, but it hadn't even cracked. He'd tired himself out and when he woke up, there was a plate of food lying next to him. He'd rebelliously refused to eat and had thrown the plate against the glass, glaring at nothing as none of the Autobots came by when he was awake. He'd figured Optimus had told them about his freak out and how angry he was with them, and _rightfully so_.

Currently resting against the glass, Will glared down at the plate that had been placed next to him in his sleep, but he reluctantly began eating. He could still feel the phantom pain in his throat of being force fed his meals and it was unpleasant enough that he didn't want to go through it again. It just made him realize that the Autobots weren't going to let him starve to death, not while he had their precious Allspark in him.

For a brief moment, Will wondered how everyone had been doing, but didn't let the thoughts stay long as they made him feel incredibly depressed. It was likely that his friends were right outside that door, and he couldn't see them, and they couldn't see him. He'd tried yelling, calling out for help, but it never worked.

Will glared bitterly down at the floor; the thought of Optimus letting him out of this box once the Decepticons were dealt with rang false. Will might not have known much about Cybertron and the Autobots, but he did know one thing.

The Allspark was their source of life, and that meant Will was _never_ getting out of this prison cell.


End file.
